FALCONS: Captain Ryan plots course

Flowery Branch —- Fresh off his offensive rookie of the year season, after leading the Falcons on a transcendent trip to the playoffs, quarterback Matt Ryan has set the bar mighty high.

So where does he go from here?

For a player who drew comparisons to some of the best rookie quarterbacks in NFL history, perhaps we should start by looking there. The news is good.

Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger followed their stellar rookie seasons with trips to the Super Bowl. Marino passed for an NFL-record 5,084 yards in his second year with Miami in 1984 and took home the league’s MVP. Roethlisberger, who had led Pittsburgh to a 15-1 regular season and the AFC championship game his rookie year, took them all the way to the Super Bowl title in 2005.

Two days after the Falcons were eliminated in the first round, Ryan was fresh-faced after sleeping in until 10:30 a.m. Monday, his first step toward unwinding from what he calls an 18-month “whirlwind” dating to his senior year at Boston College.

Those comparisons might have been a little much to take in for Ryan.

But his general manager sees the wheels already turning toward next season. Thomas Dimitroff ran into Ryan in the film room Sunday, evaluating ways he can improve for the long haul.

“It warmed my heart to see him in our film room, not only watching this year’s final game but also talking about the future and what direction are we going,” Dimitroff said. “He was analyzing some of the footage he was watching for years to come.”

Ryan said he watched film of the Arizona game as well as other games down the stretch to get an idea of what he needed to concentrate on this offseason.

His No. 1 priority is decision-making, something Ryan and coach Mike Smith referred to Monday in back-to-back news conferences.

“I thought I made pretty good decisions throughout the course of the year, but you can never be perfect,” Ryan said. “And you have to strive to get as close as you can to that.”

He said he also wanted to work on accuracy, acknowledging a lack thereof at critical times in Arizona. He also wanted to study his tendencies.

“You have to study where you go with the football, your eyes, your footwork, all different things because other people are out there doing that,” Ryan said.

But perfectionist tendencies aside, Ryan can revel in a complete season. He passed for 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and led the Falcons to an 11-6 record. He took every snap except a handful to running back Jerious Norwood in the “Dirty Bird” formation.

And he earned the respect of his teammates. Ryan was voted one of two offensive captains along with center Todd McClure on Sunday.

“I told Matt: rookie of the year, Pro Bowl first alternate for the quarterback, to me this is probably the biggest honor,” Smith said. “That your teammates voted you captain as a first-year player.”

Now that his first year is over, Ryan plans to relax and enjoy living in Atlanta with some free time on his hands. It won’t be long before he’s on the golf course. He’ll have time to reflect on how much his life has changed the past year.

“The biggest thing is week in and week out lining up against the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears, the teams that have been in this league for a long time,” Ryan said. “It’s an honor to be able to go out there and play in this league. To actually be doing it, it’s an unbelievable thing. I’ve enjoyed this year. I look forward to hopefully many more surreal moments in my career.”